Chris Farrell returns to the Munster team as Johann van Graan makes five changes ahead of Saturday's Guinness PRO14 match against Scarlets at Thomond Park (5pm).

JJ Hanrahan admits that Munster’s young guns are keeping the established players on their toes.

Carbery, already sidelined following surgery on a wrist ligament injury, saw an ankle specialist last week.

Darren Sweetnam scored the bonus-point try six minutes from time to celebrate his first start since October against 14-man Zebre in Italy.

It will be a proud day for the Scannell/O’Sullivan families when Munster take the field against Zebre in the Guinness Pro14 in Milan tomorrow night.

Niall will lead a team that includes his younger brother Rory and their cousin, Jack O'Sullivan.

Munster achieved their essential aim of taking all five Guinness Pro 14 points from the visit of the lowly Southern Kings by the half-time whistle at Musgrave Park and after that, it was little more than a romp for a bang-in-form home side who thrilled the appreciative Cork crowd of 6,854 with ten tries on a delightful evening for attacking football.

Further evidence of the influence of West Cork rugby in the Munster team has come with the inclusion of Rosscarbery flanker John Hodnett for his first Guinness Pro 14 start — against South African side Southern Kings — at Musgrave Park this evening, kick-off 7. 35.

Nash has been named to start on the wing as Keith Earls misses out due to a minor knee injury in one of two changes to Johann van Graan's side.

In the 19th minute of the pivotal Pool 4 Champions Cup meeting in Paris last Sunday, JJ Hanrahan and his Munster colleagues jogged back behind halfway to receive a Racing 92 restart.

Munster lock Jean Kleyn has emerged as an injury doubt for Sunday’s Heineken Champions Cup pool finale at home to Ospreys, with Johann van Graan insisting his side is still alive in the competition.

Peter O’Mahony was left to regret missed opportunities throughout Munster’s Heineken Champions Cup pool campaign but the captain is confident his province has the right mix to compete with the European elite in future.

In the end, there was simply too much firepower for Munster to cope with. They had battled hard for 70 minutes, taking a 22-20 lead into the endgame and keeping hopes of another European miracle alive.

While a win over Ospreys is well within their compass, the fact that holders Saracens can still advance as a best runner up will suit them just fine.

Munster head coach Johann Van Graan admitted Racing 92’s late sucker punch was a bitter pill to swallow as his team’s Heineken Champions Cup hopes were all but ended.

Devastating finishing in the final 10 minutes sent Racing 92 into the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals as the Parisians finally broke Munster’s brave resistance and left their hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds hanging by a slender thread.

It says much about Munster’s standing in rugby country that their current state of ill health is consuming more column inches and debate than Leinster’s relentless march towards further glories.

The Munster head coach was able to select JJ Hanahan as his starting fly-half to face Racing 92 in Sunday’s crucial Heineken Champions Cup pool clash at La Défense Arena.

The Ulster website offered a taster of how the other province lives on Monday, with the club about to send out a welcome update to their fans ahead of a huge week of European rugby.

Johann van Graan has rated fly-half JJ Hanrahan’s chances of facing Racing 92 on Sunday in Paris as 50/50 with the Munster boss preparing to decide between rookie Ben Healy and Rory Scannell as his starting number 10 in the absence of Joey Carbery.

Steps to prevent the Football Association of Ireland descending into insolvency will intensify this week with the announcement of independent directors and a roadmap to financial stability.

Munster are facing an out-half injury crisis after Joey Carbery suffered a wrist injury that will require surgery.

Joey Carbery looks set to come to Munster’s rescue in Belfast on Friday night with the fit-again Ireland fly-half covering the possible absence of JJ Hanrahan with a hamstring injury.

Johann van Graan was left counting the casualties as he turned his focus towards this Friday’s visit to Ulster having lost more players to injury in the 13-6 home defeat to Leinster on Saturday.

Given the trail of destruction Leinster have left in their wake on visits to opposition grounds this season, it would be easy to portray Munster as just another hapless victim of a superbly efficient rugby machine.

Johann van Graan was left to rue Munster’s failure to break down Leinster’s defences as Leo Cullen’s defending champions continued their 100 per cent start to the Guinness PRO14 campaign with a hard-fought victory at Thomond Park.

With the clock ticking and Munster trailing 13-6, the home side won a crucial penalty inside the Leinster 22 after a sustained period of pressure and kicked for the corner.

Carbery has spent the last two months rehabbing an ankle injury.

Johann van Graan hopes Joey Carbery will play his first game for Munster this season when they take on Leinster at Thomond Park on Saturday.

Jack O’Donoughe’s first-half try and a perfect kicking performance from JJ Hanrahan gave Munster the honours in this feisty inter-pro, which saw them stretch their lead at the top of the PRO14 Conference B standings.

Dave Kilcoyne makes his return from a calf injury to start for Munster against Connacht in tomorrow's PRO14 clash.

We were up in the wildish Scottish yonder last Saturday when this kerfuffle at Saracens broke out.

CHAMPIONS Cup organisers EPRC has launched an investigation into the sideline incidents in the second half of Munster's Round 4 clash with champions Saracens at Allianz Park.

Johann van Graan backed his players to make the right on-pitch decisions after Munster missed a chance to rescue a losing bonus point in a 15-6 defeat at Saracens today.

With Munster holding a slender 6-3 lead on 50 minutes, the mass brawl that led to a Munster penalty handed the visitors a chance to widen their advantage.

Saracens have named an almost totally different side to face Munster at Allianz Park tomorrow, while the Reds make one change from their 10-3 home win.

Johann van Graan admitted Saracens’ losing bonus point at Thomond Park could be crucial in the final shake-up in Munster’s European pool campaign.

Munster have defeated Saracens by 10 points to 3. Here's the match in 60 seconds.

Captain Peter O’Mahony claimed a crucial lone try as Munster overcame Saracens 10-3 in a scrappy Heineken Champions Cup contest at a weather-beaten Thomond Park.

Ask any Munster supporter their thoughts on the Saracens personnel coming to Thomond Park this evening and they will take the matchday squad named by Mark McCall yesterday in a heartbeat. Ask the Munster coaching group the same question and they will not be taking anything for granted.

The four Irish provinces have named their teams for this weekend's Champions Cup clashes.

It's 20 years since Munster did that number on Francois Pienaar’s Saracens at Thomond Park.

It is with some relief that JJ Hanrahan chooses not to bring his impressive footwork into his dealings with the media.